Kennyi?

[MrMup04]

would a kennyi be able to live in a 10g tank?

 

[Cichlid-Man]

No sry.....not quite big enough i'd say 46gal min. Better in a 50gal tank

 

[MrMup04]

oh....really? man that fish is really small at the pet store

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Yeah they look good too.

You can keep them in a smaller tank though you will be buying a new tank soon after.

 

[MrMup04]

what if the fish only grows about 3 inches?

 

[Managuense]

you could keep a P. demasoni, or a pair of P. salousi--which only grow ~3inches.

both are quite feisty and pretty, but the demasoni are too feisty for my liking.... either could be kept alone in a 10g IMO.
M

 

[MrMup04]

i don't think they sell those around my place

 

[wayne at home]

Yes, but live is about all most single mbuna will in a 10, esp. if that 10 is tall rather than long. John, at the end of the day 10 gallons are just no good for almost all cichlids, esp. medium large aggressive ones. Also single mbuna are not known for interesting behaviour.
Pairs don't work either - the males just worry the females to death over a few days/weeks/months

 

[SoulFish]

i wouldnt put demasoni or a saulosi in a 10gal, 10gals are too small for african cichlids other then shell dwellers, a single mbuna would be misserable and not do anything, kenyi minimum 55gal with 1 m 4 females, it may be small in the store but fish do grow and they can grow fast, at my work we have some kenyi that hit 3 inches in 3 months

 

[MrMup04]

thanks for the advice im not getting it any more

 

[wayne]

A good call - single mbuna don't make for a thrilling display, and often their colours fade as well

 

[Managuense]

i can see that i suppose.

with demasoni, i just cant see how anyone could keep those little suckers alive. i had the worst luck with them, and if i ever did them again i would do them with some other mbuna, but only ONE demasoni per tank.
M

 

[greendragon]

Demasoni do better in schools,so imo a 55 would be minimum,and they get bloat easy so spirulina is the best food for them and i mean spirulina as the main ingredient,not fish meal as the main ingredient.jmo

 

[Managuense]

Originally posted by greendragon
Demasoni do better in schools,

i heard the exact same thing, but after having 12 in a 125g (on two different occasions) i dont buy into this anymore. i had the entire tank piled high with granitic boulders and chunks of chert. nada.....nothing doing with these guys. I dont know, YMMV i guess.

i think i had 3 after 4 months.....

if i ever do another mbuna tank i will just go with a huge school of yellow labs and P. salousi.
M

 

[Managuense]

they get bloat easy so spirulina is the best food for them and i mean spirulina as the main ingredient,not fish meal as the main ingredient

i agree with this to a large extent. since most mbuna's diet consists of algae found around their "rocky-retreats" there is a lot of good common sense in feeding demasoni (and most mbuna) a diet that is high in vegetation. (kelp, spirulina, etc.)

as long as you are not feeding a diet TOO high in animal fats and protein i dont forsee many problems with bloat.

another reason i love yellow labs is that they are one of the few mbuna that feed on a lot of invertebrates.... making bloat highly unlikely.
M

 

[greendragon]

i heard the exact same thing, but after having 12 in a 125g (on two different occasions) i dont buy into this anymore. i had the entire tank piled high with granitic boulders and chunks of chert. nada.....nothing doing with these guys. I dont know, YMMV i guess.

Yes,from what i've read on other forums and talking to people via chat lines your not the only one this has happened to,which is the reason I have never tried them myself and personally I don't believe Demasoni should be kept in any aquarium.

I have 2 Mbuna tanks:
#1 (75 g) has 6 Acei Ngara,5 Yellow labs,5 Rusties,2 Crabro,3 Polites and a Syno Angelicus

#2 (125 g) has 8 Ps. elegans,4 polites and 4 Red zebras

I don't have an aggresion problem in either one and the 125 has all full grown adult fish.

 

[Managuense]

in my old mbuna tank i also had acei and yellow labs. they make for a great contrast dont they?

are your acei hyper=active also? (at least relative to your other mbuna?)
M

 

[wayne]

Just to add to the confusion I've never bothered with acei as I hearthey can be horribly agressive too. I guess everyones experience is different

 

[greendragon]

in my old mbuna tank i also had acei and yellow labs. they make for a great contrast dont they?

Yes they do make a great contrast,and yes they are quite hyper active,but in this case thats not a bad thing as it keeps all the other fish from hiding in the rocks,they come out to join in instead.My Acei are adults but they're not full grown,so it's a wait and see on thier aggression till they get bigger and go in a 125.